Electrical remote control rearview mirrors are now available and these require a control which is familiar to drivers of automobiles and which ideally appears and functions in an external manner as prior art mechanical pendant actuators. Prior switches having a motion mimicking desired movement in respect to the mirror were devised and for the most part, were too bulky and too elongate to be readily applicable in automotive interiors.
The present invention relates to an improved and compact electrical control switch structure and, more particularly, to an electrical control switch which is selectively operable to any of four separate operating positions and for driving any one of plural remotely located motors in selected forward or reverse directions and which, upon release, bias-returns to a neutral centered position. The improved switch is compact and is confined in an elongate case having a bottom closure and an axially extending actuator handle. Compactness is extended by radial movement of the leads from the bottom closure plate transverse to the principal axis of the switch and the bottom closure plate supports the contactors and leads. The contactors are driven into the closure plate and through the terminal ends of leads. The leads and contactors are driven into firm keyed relation in the closure plate and nest in grooves provided in the closure plate. Upsets are provided on the shank of the contactors which enhance guided swaging with subsequent keying and stock-envelopment, the stock closing behind the upsets to resist removal of the contactors and their connected leads. Because of the high precision of the swage-wedge entry to prepositioned openings, a higher reliability in the switch was obtained.
While a wide variety of reversing switches are well known in the prior art, none of such devices as known to applicant are sufficiently compactly arranged and geometrically oriented as to provide a relatively short pendant type control for remote control rearview mirrors and where the manipulation of the switch corresponds in movement direction to the selected adjustment of the remotely positioned mirror. For the most part, electrical remote control rearview mirrors are moved up and down (dive and climb) by one reversible motor and are turned or pivoted to the left and to the right by another reversible motor.
Accordingly, the control switch must selectively control tilting of the mirror in any selected position and the switch must be able to selectively control relative pivoting in a horizontal plane of the mirror in any selected tilt position and upon release, the control switch should center bias to a non-driving position. To achieve such a structure compactly and to construct such a switch economically is the principal object of the present invention.
In the assembly of the switch of the present invention, electrical connection at assembly was achieved using contactor structures which seat themselves against removal after a relatively easy press fit entry. This contribution has application to electrical apparatus having contacting posts and can be adapted to high productivity with low overall cost and repetitive accuracy without sacrifice of precision and electrical reliability. This aspect of the present invention is particularly valuable where precision location of the posts or contacts is a requisite of the electrical design.
Thus, another object is to provide a new and improved control swtich for electrical apparatus in which directional control in two planes is achieved. Still another object is to provide an electrical remote control switch which is trouble-free and especially adapted to a remote controlled rearview mirror structure. Another object is to provide new precision in locating contacts which utilize a swage-like impingement on conducting leads. Other objects, including compactness, reliability and economy, will be perceived as the description proceeds.